Sheriff's deputies apprehend fugitive

Bob Henline

The Western News

Jason Dale Kelso, who absconded from parole in October 2014, was arrested by the Special Response Team of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s office Friday evening.

Responding to what they termed “credible information,” Sheriff’s deputies were able to pinpoint Kelso’s suspected location to a property on Bull Lake. The Special Response Team, supported by off-duty deputies and reserves, deployed at the suspected site at approximately 7:30 p.m. Friday, but was unable to locate the fugitive. Evidence was recovered, however, confirming Kelso had been staying at the location.

After an unsuccessful search of the target property, team leader Sgt. Brandon Holzer suggested the teams split and searched two additional locations known to be frequented by Kelso.

Holzer led one team to a location approximately one mile south of Bull Lake, while Deputy Boyd White led the second team to a house on Angel Island. Kelso was spotted inside the Angel Island residence, prompting deputies to knock on the door. Once the owner allowed entry, Kelso was found hiding in a bathroom and was taken into custody without further incident.

“Sgt. Holzer is the team leader,” said Sheriff’s Captain Bo Pittman. “He did a great job and made sound decisions after the initial raid. The second team, led by Detective Boyd White, gained entry to the premises and made the arrest. They also did a great job.”

The Special Response Team is relatively new to the Sheriff’s Office, Pittman said. It was formed in 2011, after the election of Sheriff Roby Bowe.

“We did not have a robust capability to deal with barricaded subjects and hostage situations,” Pittman said. “So we had to rely on S.W.A.T. from Flathead County to assist in those situations.”

Since the creation of the Special Response Team, six Lincoln County deputies have completed the state S.W.A.T. school and Pittman has also traveled to Canada to become a certified instructor in less-lethal apprehension techniques.

Pittman said given Kelso’s history, they feared he would barricade himself inside the house, so the decision was made for the Special Response Team to take the lead in the arrest.

Kelso was sentenced Oct. 6, 2014, on counts of felony possession of dangerous drugs and bail-jumping. He was given a two-year suspended sentence for the bail-jumping charge and three years, also suspended, on the drug charge.

Adult Probation and Parole Officer Darrel Vanderhoef said Kelso contacted his office immediately following the sentence and came in the next day to register for his probation. Vanderhoef said Kelso also called in once later in the month and committed to reporting at a later date, but failed to show.

Vanderhoef filed a petition for revocation of Kelso’s sentence Dec. 16, 2014 and law enforcement has been looking for him ever since. On April 24, The Western News published Kelso’s picture at the request of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. Credible tips from a citizen who had seen Kelso riding a bike in the area led to the arrest.